From Prada To Bra-da: Should We All Start Wearing Our Underwear As Outerwear?

Earlier today, Prada‘s Spring 2014 show walked in Milan—and in the grand tradition of all Miuccia Prada productions, it was pretty spectacular. Much like the fashion house’s last spring show, which featured puzzling platforms with toe-separating leather socks, there was a shoe bound to cause a stir: this time, it was a Teva-style sandal encrusted in chunky gems and paired with sporty, striped leg warmers. Yes, leg warmers.

But what really caught my eye during the livestream were the bras—and no, this wasn’t your average case of peekaboo underthings. There were knits featuring color-blocked trompe l’oeil versions, sparkling brassieres embroidered onto winter coats and, in several cases, actual bras worn atop cocktail dresses (or perhaps they were actually built right in—it was hard to tell). Basically, Miuccia Prada took Spring 2014’s undisputed top trend, the crop top, and turned it on its head (or should we say, flipped it inside out). She also essentially made the look wearable for all women concerned about the state of their abs. So this begs the question: should we all start strapping our (fanciest, prettiest) bras on top of our workwear? Is this just the next step in the evolution of the bustier dress? And most importantly—which gutsy power editor will dare to wear Miuccia’s bra-dresses ("bresses?") first? Our money’s on either Anna Dello Russo or Miroslava Duma. Europeans can pull off this sort of thing.